Truce
by Incognito Albatross
Summary: It was only for a few hours, and when they met again, they would be enemies once more. But just for a moment, they could be two ordinary girls traveling through a blizzard. No heroes, no villains, no Team Galactic. That was what mattered. One-shot.


**A/N: I got the idea for this story after hearing about the Christmas Truce of World War I, an event in which the soldiers on both sides declared a truce on Christmas so that they could gather up their dead in peace. This wasn't all they did, though - the two sides exchanged gifts, sang Christmas carols, and even played a friendly game of soccer. The next day, however, they had to go back to fighting each other. This story was also partially inspired by a scene from the Diamond and Pearl Adventures manga, when Hareta and the Gym Leaders were having a picnic just before invading the Galactic HQ. When Hareta was confronted by a Galactic grunt, he just invited the grunt to have some food, and the two of them ate peacefully together, until Hareta finished eating and said it was time to fight Team Galactic, upon which he and the grunt started fighting like nothing had ever happened. I thought that it would be fun to write about a temporary truce between a protagonist and a member of an evil team. Since I'm currently playing Platinum, and since a Sinnoh remake is probably coming soon, I decided to set this in the Sinnoh region. And yes, I know that there is no Christmas in the Pokemon world, but there is in this story. With all that said, enjoy** **!**

* * *

Dawn usually liked to think of herself as intelligent, but today she couldn't help but think of what an idiot she'd been, thinking that she could get all the way to Snowpoint City in one day.

She'd set off from Celestic Town early in the morning yesterday - which happened to be Christmas Eve - confident that she'd make it to Snowpoint City in time to call her mother on the Pokemon Center phone and wish her a merry Christmas. She'd promised her mother that she would call. It wouldn't be the same as being home for Christmas, but at least she would get to hear from her mother. If Dawn had stayed in Celestic Town, she would still have access to a phone, and everything would be going as planned. But no, no, she'd just _had_ to decide to press on and go to Snowpoint City, and now she would be stuck out here on Route 217 for Christmas.

Even worse, the snow was falling faster and faster from the sky, blanketing her hat and her hair and her coat and everything she had with her. The wind was blowing harder too, and Dawn was sure that soon it would turn into a full-on blizzard. She would have to camp out somewhere until it subsided, or else she'd lose sight of the path and get lost.

This really couldn't get any worse, could it? She should be at home, opening presents from under the tree, or singing carols with her mom, or stuffing her face with pecha berry pie. Definitely not trekking through a blizzard, all alone.

 _Well, not all alone,_ she thought. _At least I have my Pokemon with me._ Empoleon, Rotom, Chansey, Porygon, Lucario, and Eevee. The friends that had been with her constantly throughout her journey, battling with her for six gym badges, growing with her, traveling with her all across Sinnoh. As long as she was with them, she wasn't truly alone.

Dawn walked faster, her spirits beginning to rise. Maybe she'd be able to get to Snowpoint City before the end of the day. With her Pokemon with her, how bad could it be?

That was when she heard the voice.

"Guys? Guys? Where did you go? Where are you?"

It was the voice of a girl, probably a teenager, barely audible above the wind.

"Hello? Anyone there? It's me! I'm with you! Just shout so I can tell where you are!"

There was a bit of a plaintive edge to the voice now, as if the speaker had realized that nobody was going to help her. Dawn opened her mouth to shout back, but stopped as she heard the voice's next words.

"Jupiter! Commander Jupiter! Can you hear me? Slow down! I can't keep up! I can't even see you guys anymore! Where are you? Please slow down, please stop, please, please, please…"

Dawn froze. Jupiter was here, which meant that Team Galactic was here. Which meant that the voice she was hearing right now was one of a member of Team Galactic, most likely a low-ranking grunt. One that was young or weak or tired enough to have fallen behind the rest of the group, and have gotten lost.

"Jupiter! Anyone! Can you hear me? Please, just slow down and tell me where you are! Let me find you! I won't be a burden ever again, I promise! I'll keep up! Just please, wait for me, don't leave me here!"

For a moment, Dawn felt something almost like pity for the girl. Sure, she was in Team Galactic, but did she really deserve to be left behind, lost in the cold, crying out for help that would never come? And on Christmas, too?

 _Don't be stupid,_ she scolded herself. _That girl out there is your enemy. She's probably stolen a bunch of people's Pokemon. She made a choice when she joined Team Galactic, and this is what she gets for it._

 _Wait a minute. Her voice is getting louder and easier to hear. But the blizzard is getting worse. Her voice should be getting quieter...unless she's getting nearer and nearer!_

Just as the thought occurred to her, Dawn noticed a silhouette peeking out from behind a tree. The girl, apparently not seeing her, stumbled further into Dawn's sight.

Just as she'd suspected, the girl was a Galactic grunt, with the usual short blue hair and tight-fitting uniform that was completely inappropriate for the snowy weather. She was younger than most Galactics, looking like she was only two or three years older than Dawn. In build, she was tall and skinny - too skinny. She shivered, leaning against a tree for support. Her breath came in gasps, and her eyes were red, as if she'd recently been crying. Dawn had a faint memory of battling her in the Eterna Galactic Building.

The girl looked up. Her eyes fell on Dawn's face. "Excuse me, have you seen Team Ga- I mean, a group of people that look like me? Wearing what I'm wearing? Could you please -" In a flash, recognition dawned on the girl's face. " _You_!"

The girl scrambled backwards, but her feet slipped on the snow and she fell, landing flat on her back. Frantically, she sat up and pulled a Poke Ball from her belt. She threw it to release a Glameow. Dawn just stood there, staring.

"What are you doing?" the girl squeaked. "Aren't you going to send out a Pokemon?"

Dawn thought about it for a moment. _If I send out a Pokemon, this becomes a fight. If this becomes a fight, I'll clearly win. If I win, she'll run away. If she runs away, she'll most likely never get found. And no one ever finds her...she'll freeze to death. On Christmas. I'm not going to let someone die on Christmas without at least trying to save them._

Finally, Dawn spoke. "Why are we even doing this?"

The girl stared at her. "What?"

"Why are we fighting? It's not going to accomplish anything. We're both heading towards Snowpoint City, or somewhere near there, aren't we? We both want to get there as fast as possible. Battling will just make it less likely that we get there in time," Dawn explained.

"But...we're enemies. We're on opposing sides. We have to fight," the girl said, dumbfounded.

Dawn shook her head. "We don't _have_ to do anything. Jupiter isn't here, is she? She's not here to tell you to fight. What you _need_ to do, though, is get out of the snow, get warm, eat something, and wait for the blizzard to go away. It's too cold and too snowy for traveling. You don't even have a coat. You could die."

"But you hate Team Galactic. Why do you care if I live or die?"

"I hate Team Galactic, yes. I hate what they do, and what they stand for. I hate Cyrus, and I hate Mars and Jupiter and Saturn and Charon. I hate that you're with them. But I don't hate you as a person," Dawn replied.

The girl slowly got to her feet. "But I _am_ Team Galactic, and Team Galactic is me. I'm as much a part of them as - as a - as a gear is part of a clock. Fitting in with all of the other parts to make a working machine. What they do is what I do. What they stand for is what I stand for. And you oppose all of it. That's what people like you do."

Dawn sighed, wishing that she had the words to explain exactly what she was thinking. "Look. It's Christmas. Haven't you heard of taking holidays off? Can't we just have a few hours where you're not a Galactic grunt and I'm not fighting Team Galactic? Can't we just forget all that and be two ordinary girls for a while? A temporary peace."

"Like...a truce?" the girl suggested.

"Yes. A truce. What do you say?" Dawn extended her hand out to the girl.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then shook her hand. "Fine. Just until I get back to the rest of the team."

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief. "The first thing we should do is find some sort of shelter. Then we can light a fire, and it won't be so cold."

"I can find a shelter. Maybe. I have experience with things like that, I guess. It doesn't make me good at it or anything, but I can do it. If you pick up some firewood while we're walking. Not that you have to or anything, but I just thought -"

"Sounds great," Dawn said, cutting her off. "Let's go."

Dawn and the Galactic girl walked in silence for a few minutes. The snow was coming in harder, making it so hard to see that Dawn had to send out Rotom to use Defog repeatedly. When she could see her surroundings, they were beautiful - huge, spreading pines with icicles dangling from their branches, bushes covered with snow, frozen streams glistening in the minimal light. With all of the trees that grew there, it was easy to find dry branches and pinecones on the ground for firewood.

After about ten minutes, Dawn broke the silence. "I remember battling you back in Eterna City, but I don't think we've met anywhere else. Besides, a battle isn't a proper introduction. Let's try again. I'm Dawn. What's your name?"

The girl fidgeted with her hands. "My...name? I'm the twenty-second grunt in Jupiter's unit. They call me J-22."

"Not your name in Team Galactic. Tell me your real name."

"Before I joined, I was called Nova. I guess you can call me that, but only during the truce. When the truce ends, I'll be J-22 again." Nova's eyes stared straight ahead, not meeting Dawn's gaze. Dawn couldn't think of anything to say to that, so the conversation lapsed back into awkward silence.

Just a few minutes later, Nova came to a stop in a small clearing. In the center of the clearing, there was a massive, ice-covered boulder, but this was not what Nova pointed at. Rather, it was a large outcropping of rocks on the far side of the clearing, with a small gap beneath it.

"We can stay under there until the blizzard is gone. It should be a tight squeeze, but at least we won't get snowed on," Nova pointed out, already moving toward the outcropping. Dawn quickly caught up to her.

After returning their Pokemon to their Poke Balls, the two girls got down onto their hands and knees and crawled under the rocks. The space beneath was a lot bigger than Dawn had expected, almost big enough to call a cave, with enough room to sit up if she hunched over a little bit. The little cave was cold and damp, and the rocks scratched her skin, but at least she was out of the snow.

Dawn gathered up the firewood and placed it near the front of the cave, then pulled out a box of matches. Before long, she had a small fire going.

"Is it really a good idea to burn things in a cave? What if the smoke blows in here and suffocates us? I mean, not that I'm questioning your decisions, but, well -" Nova stammered.

"Don't worry. I can take care of that." Dawn pulled Rotom's Poke Ball out of her bag and threw it, releasing Rotom. "Rotom, use Defog!"

The little electric Pokemon gave an annoyed chirp, but complied - its lightning-shaped appendages glowed with a blue light, and suddenly all of the smoke from the fire was gone. The fire still burned brightly, but gave off no smoke or sparks.

"See? Defog can be de-smoke in a pinch," Dawn explained.

Nova gave Rotom a long stare. "Did you find that Pokemon in the Old Chateau in Eterna Forest?"

"Yeah. It's called Rotom. Have you heard about it?"

"Sort of. Charon is obsessed with it. He's been doing all this research - it's supposed to be a secret, but he keeps leaving his notebook lying out in the open. I read it once, and it was about ten percent Rotom facts, ninety percent egotistical ramblings about how smart he is. Astra used to say-" Nova stopped speaking abruptly, clamping a hand over her mouth.

Dawn frowned. "Who's Astra?"

" _S-36,_ " Nova said sharply, "is my older sister."

"Can't we just call her Astra? There's no one here to tell us not to," Dawn argued.

Nova narrowed her eyes. "S-36 is with her unit. She's not on a truce like I am, so she's still S-36."

"Okay, fine," Dawn said reluctantly. "S-36… So your sister is the thirty-sixth grunt in Saturn's unit? Is that what it stands for?"

"Yeah," Nova replied. "She was on Jupiter's unit, but then she got reassigned." She cleared her throat, and Dawn could tell that she wanted to change the subject. "So you're a Pokemon trainer? Are you collecting Gym Badges?"

Dawn smiled and nodded, then reached into her bag and pulled out her badge case. She held it up to Nova and opened it, revealing six badges and two ribbons. "I started about two months ago, and it's been going great. Being a trainer is awesome. There's more to it than just the badges, you know. My favorite part is traveling, seeing the forests and the mountains and the cities…" She trailed of as she realized that Nova wasn't listening.

Nova was staring intently at something in the case - not the badges, but the ribbons. She reached out tentatively with a finger and poked one, then jerked her hand back. "Are those from contests? Do you coordinate too?"

Dawn shrugged. "My mom is really into that kind of stuff, and she got me to try a few contests here and there, but I mostly stick to battling. Do you like contests?"

"I love them. When I was younger, I wanted to be a coordinator," Nova said, a dreamy look on her face. "I would watch them on TV all the time. What's it like being in one?"

"A lot of pressure, honestly. Having your Pokemon appeal to the judges is only half the work. The other half is trying to calculate in your head when to appeal and what move to appeal with and which judge to appeal to," Dawn replied with a sigh. "There are a lot of really nice coordinators, but there are also some really nasty ones that have their Pokemon 'accidentally' attack yours, or rip your dress, or even pull your hair to keep you from concentrating. But the show aspect of it, and the spotlight on you and your Pokemon, and the applause when your Pokemon wins - that's what makes it worth it. A lot of people really like contests."

Nova touched the Poke Ball on her belt. "I bet Glameow would make a wonderful performer."

"Is that why you caught that Glameow? So you could use it in contests?" Dawn asked.

The smile faded from Nova's face. "I didn't catch it. It was given to me when I joined Team Galactic. All members are required to have at least one Pokemon with them at all times."

"That makes a lot of sense, actually. I always wondered why you grunts always used the same kinds of Pokemon. But why those specific kinds?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's because they're easy to catch and breed on a large scale," Nova explained. "Also, they can learn a lot of moves that are useful in the field - Zubats can learn Fly, Stunky can learn Cut - that sort of thing. And they know a lot of moves that are good when you're running away, like Confuse Ray and String Shot and Poison Gas and Smokescreen. At least, that's what I think. I'm probably wrong." As she finished speaking, her stomach let out a loud rumble.

"We should probably eat something," Dawn said, putting her badge case back into her bag, and pulling out a box of poffins and a plastic bag full of sandwiches. "And we should feed Rotom and Glameow too, since they were out of their Poke Balls so much."

Nova released Glameow from her Poke Ball in a flash of light. The feline Pokemon brushed up against her trainer, weaving through her legs. Nova slowly ran a hand through her Pokemon's fur. Eventually, she spoke. "You - you mean - you mean you'll share your food?"

"Of course," Dawn replied. Any doubt she'd had about feeding the enemy had vanished when she'd seen just how scrawny Nova and Glameow were - obviously, whoever controlled food distribution in Team Galactic wasn't giving the grunts nearly enough food. "What kind of poffins does Glameow like?"

"What poffins...Glameow likes? I...I don't know. I've never given her any. She eats just about anything, though."

"I'll give her one of the sweet ones, then." Dawn took a pink poffin out of the box and handed it to Glameow, then held out a yellow poffin for Rotom. She waited until she could hear the contented chewing noises of the two Pokemon before speaking again. "What kind of sandwich would you like - cheese or peanut butter?"

Nova's eyes widened, and her gaze darted between the two types of sandwiches in the bag. "I, um, I guess I'll have, um, peanut butter? No, cheese. I'll have cheese, I guess."

Dawn gave her a cheese sandwich from the bag, and picked out a peanut butter sandwich for herself. _That was kind of weird,_ she thought. _Is it really that hard to choose a sandwich? Then again, she probably hasn't made any choices for herself in a long time. She probably just eats whatever they give her, and does whatever they tell her to._ Her gaze fell on Nova's dyed-blue hair, her standard uniform marked with a telltale yellow G. If she was standing in a crowd of grunts, Dawn would never be able to tell her apart from the others. _How can anyone live like that?_

The sandwiches were stale and partially squashed, and Dawn checked hers twice over for mold spores before giving up and taking a tiny bite. Nova, meanwhile, ate her sandwich extremely fast, shoving as much of it into her mouth as possible so that her cheeks bulged out, then swallowing in rapid gulps. There was no water left in Dawn's thermos, so she and Nova grabbed handfuls of freshly melted snow, melted them over the fire, and poured the resulting liquid water into their mouths. It wasn't the healthiest thing to do, but at this point, Dawn didn't care.

The two girls were silent again, but this time, it didn't feel nearly as awkward as before. Dawn took the time to open her bag and do a full inventory of her supplies. One Great Ball, three Ultra Balls, five normal Poke Balls, one Premier Ball… Dawn yawned. This was so, so boring, and she was getting so, so tired. All of the walking she'd done had taken its toll. A little rest wouldn't hurt, just a little five-minute rest…

Dawn wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep. It seemed like only a second later when she was roughly awoken by a sudden electric shock. Rotom hovered above her, letting out an angry chirp. Now that she was wide awake, her mother's warning rushed back to her. _Never fall asleep in a snowstorm. You might not wake up again._ What had she been thinking?

She looked around the cave. The fire was completely burned out, Glameow was gone - probably in a Poke Ball, and Nova -

Nova was lying on the floor of the cave, unmoving except for the slight rise and fall of her chest.

Dawn crawled over to Nova and tapped her on the head. Nova didn't stir. Her skin was slightly cool to the touch.

 _Oh no. No, no, no. Please don't be dead, please don't be dead… Be alive, Nova, please…_

Without hesitation, Dawn grabbed Nova by the shoulders and shook her as hard as she could. For a single, horrible moment, Nova didn't react. Then, all at once, Nova's eyes snapped wide open. She let out a scream and jerked out of Dawn's arms.

"I'm sorry!" Nova squealed. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it!"

"No, _I'm_ sorry," Dawn said, trying to give her words a reassuring tone. "I dozed off, and the fire went out, and when I woke up you were asleep and you wouldn't wake up, so…"

"Oh," Nova said, little more than a whisper. Her posture relaxed. "Thanks. Just try yelling my name really loudly instead next time, okay?"

"Whoever designed the uniform obviously didn't think about what you would do in cold weather. Don't you have any other clothes? You need to put on a coat or a jacket, or at least wear another shirt over your uniform," Dawn insisted. She already had an idea of what the answer would be, so she dug around in her bag for her spare coat.

Nova looked down at her feet. "I don't have any other clothes. When I joined Team Galactic, I stashed my old clothes under my bed, and they were gone a few days later. I'm not sure what happened to them. It doesn't matter, though. I joined when I was twelve, before my growth spurt. It's been two years. None of my old clothes would fit."

Dawn held out her spare coat to Nova. "You can borrow this, then. You need to stay warm." That was all she said, although her head buzzed with questions. _Did that happen to all of your other stuff, too? Does that happen to all the Galactic grunts? Are they trying to make it so that you can't desert without being immediately recognized and arrested by the police?_

Nova pulled on the coat, which was only big enough to cover two-thirds of the way down to her hips. The bright pink color of the coat contrasted sharply from the harsh metallic sheen of the uniform underneath. "You know, you're actually really mature for a ten-year-old."

"Thanks. But I'm eleven, actually," Dawn said politely.

"Eleven years old. You should be playing and enjoying your journey, not -" Nova paused. "Wait a second. Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Dawn asked. She strained her ears listening, but she couldn't hear anything except for the sound of Nova's voice. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. We can't hear the wind anymore. The blizzard probably ended while we were asleep," Nova pointed out.

Dawn crawled over to the entrance of the cave and peeked outside. Nova was right - the blizzard was gone. Everything Dawn could see was covered in a blanket of snow. The light of the afternoon sun shone on the snow, making it glow so brightly that it hurt Dawn's eyes. Everything was as silent and still as a picture.

"It's gone," Dawn called back, looking over her shoulder at Nova. "We can keep walking now."

Dawn was quick to squeeze out of the cave - the tight space had been more than a little claustrophobic, and it was good to stand up and stretch once she was back in an open space. Nova followed close behind. Rotom floated out last, its appendages drooping with exhaustion. Noticing this, Dawn quickly returned it to its Poke Ball.

"Does this mean that the truce is over?" Nova asked. Dawn hoped that she wasn't just imagining the hesitation in her voice.

"That wouldn't be good for either of us. There's only one path for the rest of the way, so if we broke up the truce one of us would have to go through the forest in order to get away from the other. And then that person could get lost," Dawn explained quickly - a little too quickly for her liking. "Plus, the rest of your group is hours ahead of us by now. Our best bet is to travel together until we get to wherever your group was going. You can rejoin them there."

"I'm not going to lead you to where Team Galactic is going," Nova said sharply. "If you see our next target, you'll know where to attack."

The words hit Dawn like a slap in the face. Nova was right. Nova and Dawn weren't just two girls - they were enemies that just happened to not be fighting. Back during the blizzard, when they were in the cave, Dawn had forgotten that. Now she remembered.

"How about we just go to Snowpoint City together, then? We can go to the Pokemon Center and warm up, and then you can walk to wherever you need to go from there. And then I won't leave the city for the rest of the day," Dawn suggested.

Nova nodded. "I'm fine with that. I can take the lead when we get to the area around Lake Acuity, since I've been there before."

Dawn now had a sinking suspicion about where Team Galactic was heading and what they wanted, but she said nothing, just started walking along the path. Now that the blizzard was gone, the wild Pokemon were coming out: Sneasels clawing their way up trees, Snorunts scurrying out of their burrows, even the occasional Noctowl flying overhead. Dawn enjoyed none of this, though. She was lost in a whirl of negative thoughts. _What am I doing? I should've ended the truce right then and there! Nova can make it on her own - probably. Maybe. Okay, probably not. But that wasn't the reason that I kept the truce going, was it? I did it because I don't want to part ways with her just yet. Which is completely idiotic. It's not like we can ever be friends, or even anything close to that. She's a Galactic grunt, and therefore my enemy. If we ever meet again after this, I'm going to have to fight her._ Dawn looked at Nova and frowned. _But what's a person like that doing in Team Galactic, anyway? She actually seems like a decent human being. And how old is she - fourteen?_

"Hey, Nova? Can I ask you a question? A serious one?"

"Actually, I have a pretty serious question for you, too. How about I answer yours first, then you answer mine?" Nova replied.

"Okay. Here's mine." Dawn paused, gathering her courage, then asked the question that had been on her mind for a long time. "Why did you join Team Galactic in the first place?"

"Astra - I mean, S-36 - found out about it first. She talked to me about it a little bit at a time, when she was walking me home from school and our parents weren't around. Then one night, she woke me up and whispered for me to follow her. We snuck out, and since we lived in Veilstone City, we only had to walk for a few minutes before we got to the Galactic Building. They generally frown on minors joining, but I was with my sister, who was eighteen at the time, and I was tall for my age, so I looked older than twelve. So they let both of us in, and we've been working for them ever since." Nova's voice was flat, dull.

"But why would you even want to join?" Dawn blurted out. "And why do you stay in there, now that you know what it's like? They took everything from you! Your clothes, your original hair color, your _choice_ in how you want to live your life! They took away your name - your _name_ , Nova - and turned your existence into a letter and a number on a list. They took your _identity_ and turned you into - into J-22!"

Nova's hands clenched into fists. For once, she didn't sound even the tiniest bit scared - there was only anger and bitterness in her tone. "Has it ever crossed your mind that I don't mind being J-22? That I might've hated being Nova Tuominen, the girl with messy hair and too-small clothes, the girl who gets whispered about behind her back because her family is homeless? Honestly, you have no idea what it was like. What it was like just walking home from school and watching the streets get dirty and the buildings get run down, and seeing shady people loitering outside of buildings watching you. What it was like being _different._ At school, the teachers always taught us that being different was good and all that junk, but Team Galactic knew the truth. Our differences are what makes people hate each other. Just think for a moment about racism, sexism, anything, and you'll realize that people do terrible things to other people because they're different. My mother is the smartest person I know, but she's different - her brain and her body don't cooperate well - so she couldn't go to college, couldn't get a job, couldn't do anything. My father came to Sinnoh looking for an opportunity, but when he got there, he was different because he couldn't speak a word of the language, so no one would hire him. Team Galactic is going to change all of that, though. We're going to shape the world to our design, and when we're done with that, everyone will be exactly the same."

"Look, I know you've been through a lot, but Team Galactic steals Pokemon from innocent trainers! And they obviously don't care about the wellbeing of the lower members. I mean, do you even know how Team Galactic is going to achieve its goals?" Dawn argued, hoping against all odds that Nova would understand.

For the first time since Dawn had first seen her, Nova finally met Dawn's eyes. Nova's eyes were a very light blue color, and they seemed to burn with passionate energy as she spoke. "I don't need to know exactly what the other units are doing, or what Cyrus is doing, at every given moment. But what I do know is that it is every grunt's duty to make our goals possible by dedicating every fiber of our being to Team Galactic. Even if it means stealing Pokemon and working from six in the morning to ten at night. Even if it means never seeing S-36 and having a name that consists of a letter and a number. I'm fine with it all, because I have a _purpose_ now. I'm one of the people who are going to change the world. I'm one of the heroes, and that makes it all worth it. Now, my question. Why are you fighting Team Galactic? You're eleven. Why don't you just leave it to that weird guy from the police - what was his name again, Seeker?"

"His name is Looker, and he's completely useless. His only Pokemon is a Croagunk - an unevolved Pokemon that can't Fly or Surf or anything. Apparently the International Police don't consider Team Galactic to be a threat, because practically all of their officers have been in Johto and Kanto. I guess it makes sense because of what happened with Team Rocket at the Radio Tower," Dawn slowly explained. Truthfully, she wasn't exactly sure why she'd started fighting Team Galactic in the first place. She'd done it once out of necessity, and another time because a little girl asked her to, but the third time…she'd just sort of instinctively done it. "But I'm assuming you want to hear about me, not Looker. I guess I fight Team Galactic because I have to. At first, when people still thought of you guys as an energy company, they didn't really believe the people who said that Team Galactic stole Pokemon. And the people that Team Galactic harmed were too scared to do anything. So I just got used to fighting them on my own, or sometimes with my friend Lucas, and I never stopped. I just can't sit still and do nothing while people have their pokemon stolen. Stealing pokemon is wrong, no matter how you frame it."

Nova flinched and broke eye contact with Dawn. "The end justifies the means. I have to remember that."

Silence fell again, this time a silence that seemed almost hostile and made Dawn nervous, as if speaking would cause everything to shatter into a million pieces. Dawn regretted asking Nova about Team Galactic now - she'd brought up the fact that they were supposed to be enemies again and now everything was ruined. Nova would be cold and unfriendly for the rest of their time together.

But to Dawn's surprise, after only a minute of silence, Nova started talking. "Enough of that. It's Christmas. Can we please be two regular girls for a little longer? I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine, and I don't want to be nosy or anything, but… Oh, forget it. You won't mind if I talk to you as if you were a normal trainer, will you?"

Dawn's shoulders sagged in relief. "I wouldn't mind at all."

"Good. So, what sort of Pokemon do you have? I remember my Glameow losing to your Prinplup, but I don't know what others you've got," Nova said briskly.

"Well, my Prinplup is an Empoleon now, and you already saw Rotom. I also have a Chansey, a Porygon, a Lucario, and an Eevee."

"You have an Eevee? That's so cool!" Nova exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down. "Eevees are so cute, and they can evolve into so many forms! I've always wanted one."

"I know a woman called Bebe in Hearthome City who gives Eevees out to trainers. I bet she'll give you one if you wear something that isn't a uniform," Dawn suggested.

"I doubt I'll have the time, what with capturing -" Nova abruptly cut herself off. "Sorry. Classified. But anyway, can I just look at your Eevee?"

Dawn pulled a Poke Ball out of her bag and threw it, releasing a small, fluffy Pokemon with pointed ears and a poofy tail. Eevee gave a bark of surprise when she saw Nova, which turned into a growl when she noticed the G on Nova's shirt.

"It's okay, girl," Dawn said soothingly, giving Eevee a pat on the head. "She's not going to hurt you."

Nova gave an encouraging nod and held out her hand. "Don't worry. I'm with Dawn - for now, anyway."

Eevee gave Nova a dubious look, but then reluctantly approached Nova and sniffed her fingers. A moment later, Eevee rubbed against Nova's leg, yipping happily.

Dawn chuckled. "That's Eevee for you. She judges people based on their smell. She usually doesn't like members of Team Galactic, though - something about the smell of the chemicals they use in that hair dye. But then again, there's a lot of snow in your hair, so maybe it's blocking the smell. Or maybe she can just tell that you're a good person inside."

"What are you thinking of evolving her into?" Nova asked, somehow managing to walk and talk while trying not to step on Eevee, who was running excitedly around her feet.

"I'm not sure. I showed her pictures of all the things she could evolve into, but she was more interested in eating poffins than in picking one. I'll just have to wait and see," Dawn replied, giving Eevee a thoughtful glance.

All of a sudden, Eevee came to a stop. Her fur stood on end, her ears perked up, and she stuck her nose into the air, sniffing. Eyes widening, she yapped in alarm and pointed a paw at a mound of snow that was blocking the path.

There was a deep, angry roar, and three Pokemon burst out of the snow pile. One was a hulking Pokemon with shaggy white fur that was green in some places. On either side of the Pokemon stood smaller creatures with white, green, and brown fur. All three looked equally mad. Nova gave a yelp of terror as the Pokemon shifted into a battle stance.

Dawn quickly took out her Pokedex and scanned the three strange Pokemon. For Nova's benefit, she turned the audio function on. "Snover, the Frost Tree Pokemon," the Pokedex read out loud. "In the spring, it grows berries with the texture of frozen treats around its belly. It lives on snowy mountains. Having had little contact with humans, it is boldly inquisitive. Abomasnow, the evolved form of Snover. It blankets wide areas in snow by whipping up blizzards. It is also known as 'The Ice Monster.' They appear when the snow flowers bloom. When the petals fall, they retreat to places unknown again."

Nova gulped. "Are you sure your Pokedex isn't broken? These Pokemon don't look _inquisitive_ , they look _murderous_." As if to prove her point, the three Pokemon lunged forward, sharp claws extended.

"Eevee, Shadow Ball!" Dawn cried. Eevee complied, summoning a ball of ghostly, purplish-grey mist and hurling it at the attacking Pokemon. It burst on impact, sending all three of them flying.

While all this was going on, Dawn grabbed another Poke Ball from her bag and sent out her Empoleon. "Steel Wing on the Abomasnow!" With a nod of understanding, the tall, navy-blue Pokemon rushed the Abomasnow, wings gleaming as they took on a silver hue. The Abomasnow was still sprawled on the ground, recovering from Eevee's attack, and Empoleon hit it hard with metallic wings before it had a chance to get to its feet. Seeing the pain its leader was in, one of the Snover ran off, but the other leapt onto Empoleon's back, digging its claws in hard.

"Eevee, knock it off with Double-Edge! Empoleon, keep attacking the Abomasnow! Don't let it get up!" Dawn commanded, then, knowing she could trust her Pokemon to do what she said, turned to Nova, who was staring at the battle with wide eyes. "Why haven't you sent out Glameow?"

Nova flinched. "I'm sorry! I just - just saw you battle, and I thought you were handling it, and I would only get in the way. I know, it was stupid, and I -"

"I'm not mad, and you won't get in the way. Now, could you please help me?" Dawn said, trying to sound reassuring, although there was a curt undertone to her voice.

"Okay!" Nova called out, sending out Glameow. "Glameow, help them out with Slash! On the Snover!" Glameow dashed over to the Snover, which had been knocked to the ground by Eevee, and hit it just as it stood up. The Snover collapsed, knocked out.

Dawn almost smiled. _Two down, one to go. And the last will go down easily - Empoleon has probably almost defeated it by now._

But then, to her surprise, Empoleon fell over backwards, sporting several bruises. That was odd - most attacks couldn't bruise steel-types, especially not grass or ice attacks. Only ground-type attacks would be able to bruise Empoleon like that - or, of course, other steel attacks. _Oh,_ Dawn thought in a sudden realization, _the Abomasnow must've used Swagger, and confused Empoleon. I thought it was attacking Abomasnow, but it was really attacking itself._

The Abomasnow, now back on its feet, snarled and leapt at Nova. Glameow jumped into its path, hissing and swatting it backward with her claws extended, while Eevee latched onto its foot with her jaws. Due to their combined efforts, the Abomasnow crashed into the snow, just inches away from Nova.

Nova jumped back, shivering. "G-Glameow, use Feint Attack!"

"Eevee, Double-Edge again!" Dawn yelled.

The two Pokemon attacked in unison, crashing into the Abomasnow at the exact same time. The Abomasnow gave a final roar, its paws grabbing at the air, before going still, unconscious.

Dawn heaved a sigh of relief. "Good thing that's taken care of. I'm still not sure why they were all riled up, but we're safe now." She returned Empoleon to its Poke Ball, hoping that they would get to a Pokemon Center for healing soon.

And then Eevee started to glow.

Dawn squealed in delight and raced over to her Pokemon. After so many weeks of training and hoping, Eevee was going to evolve. Beyond the dazzlingly bright light, Dawn could see Eevee's legs growing, her tail lengthening and getting narrower, her fur smoothing out. It was finally happening. In just a few moments, Eevee would be a beautiful -

"Dawn! Look out!"

Dawn spun around, just in time to see the second Snover rushing at her, fists glittering with frost. In that split second, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Dawn could see the Snover coming at her, could see its fist reaching out in an Ice Punch attack. She screamed at herself to move, but she was frozen in place, unable to move as the Snover came nearer and nearer. _I'm going to die like this, aren't I? It's going to hit me right in the chest, and my ribs will break and I'll die. Please, please, it can't end like this -_

"Glameow, Slash!" Nova screamed.

Just as the Snover was about to hit Dawn, Glameow slammed into it, slashing at it with a paw. The Snover fell to the ground with a crunch, its eyes closed.

Dawn stared at Nova. Her mouth opened, then closed without a sound. When she finally managed to speak, it was in a faint whisper. "You saved me. Thank you."

"It was only fair. You helped me out earlier, so I helped you. No big deal," Nova replied, her face flushing pink. "Anyway, did you see your Eevee's evolution? I think it's called Glaceon."

When Dawn saw Eevee's evolved form, she was instantly awestruck. Eevee - no, _Glaceon_ \- now had light blue fur with darker patches on her back, paws, and tail. A teal crest protruded from her forehead, with two straps of fur dangling from it. Glaceon was cute and pretty, and looked strong as well - all Dawn could hope for in an evolution.

Dawn's smile left her face as she returned Glaceon to her Poke Ball. "You know, Nova, I'd like to apologize for something. Before this whole truce thing, I thought that Galactic Grunts were all the same. I know this is going to sound awful, but I thought of them more as obstacles than people. I didn't think of them as real people, with families and dreams and problems just like mine. I didn't even bother wondering why they would join Team Galactic in the first place. I just labeled them as enemies and left it there - until I met you. And you _saved my life_. You've really opened my eyes, you know. But anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"To be honest, I, um, well, I felt the same way about you, actually. Except worse. To Team Galactic, you're sort of this pest that always gets in the way just when we're about to accomplish something. To the other grunts, you're a nightmare that beats them in battle easily, no matter what they try. We all know that we're going to lose even before we challenge you, you know. The commanders just throw us in the way to stall for time. And me - well, before this, I never really thought of you as a person, just as the villain that destroyed everything I worked for. I hated you, and now I'm sorry for it. I can't really say that I don't hate you anymore, though. I guess it's kinda like you said earlier - I hate what you do, and what you stand for, but I don't hate you as a person," Nova said slowly, clenching and unclenching her hands.

"Well, I'm glad I got to learn a bit about what it's like on the other side," Dawn mused. "But anyway, it won't do us any good to stay out here in the cold. We're almost in Acuity Lakefront - do you want to lead from here?"

And so it was that Dawn and Nova traveled through the last stretch of their journey. Nova took Dawn on a roundabout route, often taking so-called "shortcuts" through the trees, or doubling back and taking a different path altogether. Dawn noticed quickly that wherever they went, they were never in sight of Lake Acuity - probably on purpose, but it wouldn't do to think about it now.

The two girls were near freezing, their teeth chattering and their hands and feet numb, before they finally reached Snowpoint City. They barely cast a glance at the buildings around them before dashing into the Pokemon Center.

Inside the Pokemon Center, it was bright and cozy and warm, so _warm_. Dawn's mind was in a hazy cloud of relief as she gave the nurse her Pokemon to heal, then collapsed onto a couch, her whole body tingling. Her eyes fluttered shut, and for a minute she considered going to sleep right there, before she remembered with a jolt what she had came here to do. _I have to call my mom! She'll freak out if I don't!_

Dawn cast a quick glance at Nova, who was lying on a chair next to the couch, her eyes closed. Luckily, Dawn's spare coat was covering the G on her uniform, so hopefully no one would notice and panic unnecessarily. After reassuring herself that Nova would be fine, Dawn walked over to a small desk in the corner of the building, picked up one of the phones that stood on it, and dialed her mother's number.

After four rings, her mother picked up. "Hello, this is Johanna Shirogane. Who's calling?"

"It's me, mom," Dawn answered.

"Oh, Dawn! Thank goodness! I heard about the blizzard on Route 217, and I was worried sick. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dawn replied. "It just took a long time to get to Snowpoint City. We just got to the Pokemon Center, actually."

" _We_? There was someone with you?" her mother asked, as Dawn internally cursed herself for messing up her wording. "Was it Barry? Or Lucas?"

"No. It was just some girl I met on the way who decided to travel with me for a few hours. Her name's Nova," Dawn said tentatively, trying to leave out as many details as possible.

"Oh, really? That was nice of her. Can I talk to her?"

"She already left."

Her mother's voice sharpened slightly. "And what is this Nova person like? Is she nice? Is she a trainer? Is she younger than you, or is she older? Where's she from?"

" _Mom_ ," Dawn said, exasperated. "I didn't give her an interview. But yes, she's nice, and a bit shy. She has a Glameow, and she wants to be a Coordinator someday. She's older than me - fourteen, I think. And she's from Veilstone City."

Her mother chuckled. "Okay, okay, I get it. No more prying. Anyway, it's a shame that you aren't home for Christmas. I would've mailed you a present, but you never really stay in place for long. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I just want to -" Dawn paused, seeing a familiar shape in the corner of her eye, and turned to see Nova standing next to her. "Well, it looks like I have to go. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too, Dawn. And in case I can't call you again, have a happy New Year!" Her mother's voice was cut off as Dawn hung up.

Dawn turned around to face Nova. "Yes?"

Nova had taken off Dawn's coat, and the G on her uniform was again fully visible, a sharp reminder that Nova and Dawn could never be friends. With one arm, Nova held out the little pink coat. "Dawn. I, um, I think it's time for me to go. I can make it to the place I need to go on my own - it's only a few minutes away. Here's your coat back. I won't be needing it."

Dawn swallowed, taking her coat back. "I guess this is goodbye, then. It was nice to get to know you."

"It was the same for me. I wish things were different - really, I do." As Nova spoke, her body remained still - not twitching or shivering or fidgeting, unlike whenever she'd spoken before. "Look. As soon as I step out of that door, the truce is over. When we meet again, it'll be on opposite sides of the battlefield. And I'll be J-22 to you again. To everyone, actually. But now… Well, I just wanted… Could you say my name one more time? My full name. Nova Anneli Tuominen. Just once, before I lose it again."

Dawn couldn't keep the regret out of her voice. "Goodbye, Nova Anneli Tuominen. Merry Christmas. And a happy New Year."

"Goodbye, Dawn. Merry Christmas to you, too."

And then Nova turned around and walked out of the Pokemon Center, into the snow.

She didn't look back.


End file.
